African law gaps fuel gender discrimination – report

Gaps in family laws in most African countries are fuelling discrimination of women and girls, a new report has found. Voice of America says the report from the international NGO Equality Now said laws that favour men in matters of sex, marriage and inheritance, among other issues, leave many women in despair. The study, released to coincide with the UN-declared International Day of the Family on Wednesday, highlights how legal frameworks and customary practices in 20 African countries have fuelled discrimination in marriage, divorce, custody and property rights. Esther Waweru, a senior legal adviser at Equality Now and co-author of the report, said: ‘Take a case of Sudan for instance, where women cannot initiate divorce, unlike men. So, it therefore means that the woman will be trapped in a marriage that they don’t want to live([in), just because they can’t initiate a divorce.’ Waweru said in some countries where women initiate a divorce, they are not allowed to take custody of the children from a previous marriage when they remarry. In Malawi, the report notes, courts have ruled rape does not extend to marriage. It says customary law in Malawi presumes perpetual consent to sex within marriage and that a wife can deny her husband sex only when she is sick or legally separated. While in Tanzania, marital rape is only criminalised upon separation, the report says. It also says customary and religious laws in countries like Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Nigeria undermine women and girls in matters of inheritance, as they receive less than men and boys. Waweru said although many countries have ratified key international treaties that protect women’s rights, existing domestic laws make implementation and enforcement of these treaties difficult.